Till-alarm



L t e e h s. W e e h s 2 N 0 T L O C A L G (ModeL) TILL ALARM.

Patnted Mar. 21, 1882.

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GEORGE A. COLTQN, OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK.

TILL-ALARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of-Letters Patent No. 255,145, dated March 21, 1882.

' Application filed Jnly27, 1881. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. CoL oN, of Oneida, Madison county New York, have invented a new Improvement in Till-Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

Figure l is an inverted plan view of my invention. Fig.2 is an enlarged section on line as m,- Fig. 3, an enlarged end view; Fig. 4, a section on line 3 y. Fig. 5 is a view of one of the tumblers detached Fig. 6, a detached view of the catch of the drawer. Fig. 7 is a detached rear face view of the bolt which unlocks the drawer or till, and of the pivoted arm which restrains the alarm while the bolt is operated; and Fig. 8 is a side view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The purpose of thisinvention is to more ett'ectually guard against the tampering with and the unauthorized opening of a money-drawer; and it consists in the combination, with a drawer, of a latch operated by a slide-bolt whose action is controlled by certain tumblers engaging with said bolt and restricting the movement thereof, and certain levers operating the tumblers and actuated by suitable handles or keys connected with said levers.

The invention also consists in the combination, with the aforesaid lock mechanism, of a lever actuated bythe tumblers ot' the lock mechanism and simultaneously releasing a restrained alarm mechauisnnall as hereinafter more fully described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

A represents the money-drawer, usually ap plied to the under side of a desk or counter. To the rear of the drawer I secure a metallic frame, B, in which slides horizontally a. bolt, a. This bolt has a longitudinal central'opening, terminating at one end with abe'veled shoulder, b. A slide-rod, o, is extended through the drawer, and provided at the front end'with a suitable knob or handle, (1, and at the rear end with a cam or wedge-block, e, which latter faces the shoulder b on the bolt, so that by pushing on the rod 0 the cam e, pressing on the shoulder 11, is caused to crowd the bolt in one direction. A spring, f, pressing against the bolt in the opposite direction, restores the same to its original or dormant position as soon as released from the pressure of the cam e. The bolt a engages with one endof a latch,g, which is pivoted near its center on the frame B, and has its opposite end adapted to slide over and engage with a. catch, 0, secured to the under side of the desk or counter, to which the drawer is connected.

The sides of the bolt a are provided with notches h h, and over the notched portion of the bolt the frame B is provided with slots, in which slide tumblers 7c, in the form of plates of sufficient length to projectat the rear of the frame and enter with their opposite end the notches h of the bolt. A spring, 1, bearing against the latter end of the tumbler, holds the same in a protruding position at the rear of the frame B.

The inner or forward end of the tumbler k.

is provided on one edge with a notch, i, which extends through the end of the tumbler. The opposite edge of the tumbler is provided with a notclnj, a short distance from the aforesaid end. By placing the tumbler with the notch i facing the edge of the bolt the latter is allowed to freely slide longitudinally; butby reversing the tumbler, so as to bring the opposite edge thereof facing the bolt,the latter becomesconfined in its position by the entrance of the tumbler in the notch h, of the bolt. By pressing the tumbler inward or forward so as to bring the notclrj in coincidence with the notch in the bolt, the latter is liberated and allowed to slide longitudinally. This last-described action of the tumblers is produced by levers Z, which are" pivoted to the back of the frame 13, and have their free ends directly overthe tumblers at opposite sides of the slidebolt to, said levers being operated by handles or keys m, which slide on the under side of the drawer, near the front thereot','and are connected with the lower end of the levers Z by rods 12. A pull on the key m causes the lower end of the lever Z connected therewith to press inward or forward the tumbler directly in front of it. A push on' the key causes the upper end of the lever to press against the tumbler at the opposite or upper side of the bolt a. Hence, in

order to allow the bolt to be operated, the two tumblers at opposite sides of the bolt, and having one lever in common, must not be placed in like positions relative to the bolt; otherwise one tumbler will lock the bolt while the other releases the bolt; but by placing one tumbler with its notch i adjacent to the bolt, while the opposite tumblerhasits notch jfacing the bolt, the bolt will be released as soon as the latter tumbler is pressed inward sufficient to make the notchj register with the notch in the bolt, and when so released a push on the knob (1 causes the cam e on the push-rod to crowd the bolt endwise and throw the latch g 011' the catch 0. Therefore, in order to enable a person to unlock the drawer, it becomes necessary for him to understand which and what number ofthe keys to manipulate, and whether to push or to pull on said keys. Since one set of tumblers may be set to release the bolt by pushing on the key, while the others may be arranged to require a pull on the key,-the process of unlocking the drawer can be made exceedingly complicated, and thus the operation of the same rendered very ditiicult to any one not acquainted with the combination of the setting of the lock.

At the sides of the bolt a is a lever or arm, 0, hinged to the frame B, and arranged over the inner end of the tumblers k in such position as to come over the notch i and clear the end of those tumblers which are placed with theirnotchj facingthebo t,whiletheendof the othertumblcrswhichare setwith thesamenotch away from the bolt are brought to bear on the arm 0. The free end of the arm 0 is provided with a lug, p, which encounters a stud or stop, (1, on the side of an escapement-wheel, 0', and thereby prevents the rotation of said wheel, motion being imparted to the wheel 1' by a spring-actuated gear, 8, engaging a pinion, t, on the spindle of the wheel 1'. Upon the periphery of the wheel 1' plays an escapement, u, to which is connected a bell-hammer, t1, arranged to strike a bell, to. A pressure upon any tumbler it set with its notch j outward or away from the side of the bolt is transmitted directly to the arm 0, and swings the sameso as to throw the lug 1) off the stop q of the escapement-wheel. The latter, thus released, will then actuate the escapement and bell-hammer, sounding the alarm-bell 10.

It will be observed that by the described arrangement of the notched tumblers with the notched bolt and the arm 0 the bolta is allowed to move and operate the latch without sounding the alarm; but any improper manipulation of the keys at preparatory to releasing and operating the bolt will cause the alarm to sound.

The catch 0, which is attached to the under side of the desk or counter, and which is engaged by the latch g of the drawer, I make of a single casting, having on one side the hook l for engaging the latch, and at the opposite side with a shoulder or abutment, 2, having a socket, in which I secure a rubber pad, 3, for receiving the concussion from the end of the drawer when closing the same.

Having described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with a drawer, ofa latch operated by a sliding bolt, a cam connected with the drawer'handle and operating the sliding bolt, tumblers engaging with said bolt and restricting the movement thereof, levers operating the tumblers and manipulating handles or keys connected with said levers, substantially as set forth.

2. In a till-alarm, the push-iod 0, provided with a cam, 0, bolt (t, provided with beveled shoulder 12, and the pivoted latch g,having one end in the path of the bolt, all combined to operate with the catch in the manner set forth and shown.

3. The combination of the bolt 0, provided on its sides with notches h h, the tumblers 7:, having notches ij and moving in guides in the case B, the levers l over the end of said tumblers, and the keys at, combined with the lovers, as set forth and shown.

4. In combination with the bolt 0, provided with notches h h, the tumblers Ir,having notches ij, levers 1, keys m, rods n, spring-arm 0, provided with lug p, the escapement-wheel 1', having the stud q, and the escapement provided with the hammer Q), and the bell to, all as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I havehereunto signed my name and affixed my seal, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at- Oneida, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, this 5th day of July, 1881.

GEORGE A. (JOLTON.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. RAYMoND, O. BENDIXON. 

